2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season (SDTWFC)
The 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was an average season in terms of depressions and named storms, with 8 depressions forming and 6 cyclonic storms forming.Overall, the season wasn't particularly devastating, with the exceptions of the season's strongest storm, Evelyn, which struck western India as a category 3, resulting in widespread destruction, and Dominic, which caused severe storm surge flooding in Chennai. Storms Cyclonic Storm Alla On May 13, an area of scattered showers and thunderstorms formed of the coast of southwestern India. The low moved west-northwest, organizing fairly quickly. By May 15, the low had acquired 30 mph winds and a defined center of rotation, causing it to be upgraded and dubbed Depression ARB 01, the first storm of the season. The storm continued quickly intensifying, becoming Cyclonic Storm Alla just 6 hours later. However, Alla encountered high shear soon after that and began to weaken. By May 16, the storm had become a remnant low. Alla's remnants brought isolated thunderstorms to Yemen, with little to no impact. Deep Depression BOB 2 On May 24, a low pressure system formed in the central Bay of Bengal. The system slowly drifted north, towards Bangladesh. By May 28, close to the Bangladesh coast, the storm was dubbed a depression. As the storm came ashore, it continued intensifying, becoming a deep depression 12 hours later. Rugged terrain caused the storm's demise on May 29. During its life, the system dropped torrential rain across Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam. This rain resulted in flooding, with some areas being inudated by up to 15 feet of water. The resulting flood caused $350 million in damages (2018 USD) and killed 148 people. Cyclonic Storm Blanche On August 15, a widespread area of thunderstorms formed in the Gulf of Thailand. This system moved over the Malay Peninsula and transitioned into the Bay of Bengal the next day. The low began organizing, and by August 19, had become a deep depression. The storm moved north, and received the name Blanche on August 20. High shear ripped Blanche apart before landfall, and Blanche sped over Myanmar before dissipating. Since Blanche was moving quickly as it made landfall, no damage or deaths were reported. Severe Cyclonic Storm Chuck An extremely large squall line of thunderstorms was absorbed into a low pressure area, creating a depression on September 8. At this time, the storm was nearly stationary, drifting slowly northwest. Later that day, the depression became a cyclonic storm and was dubbed Chuck. At this time, Chuck gained some speed and continued to the northwest. By late September 9, Chuck had become the season's first severe cyclonic storm. As it approached the northern reaches of Andrha Pradesh, Chuck encountered shear and quickly weakened to a cyclonic storm. Soon after landfall, Chuck became a depression, and fully dissipated late on September 10. Chuck produced locally heavy rainfall in the northern reaches of Andhra Pradesh, resulting in locally severe flooding. Multiple small villages were inundated with water, and a small storm surge of 4 feet rushed up the Gosthani River, flooding many low lying areas of the harbor. The storm surge flooding also caused 3 feet of still water to flood the runways at the Visakhapatnam International Airport, forcing the airport's closure and cancellation of over 350 international flights. Overall, Chuck killed 23 people and caused $103 million in damages (2018 USD). Depression ARB 02 A small area of scattered thunderstorms began to condense west of Kerala on September 21. The system was nearly stationary, drifting north as it organized. By September 23, a depression had formed. However, its slow movement and small size caused it to weaken shortly after its peak early on September 24. By noon on September 24, the storm had dissipated with no land effects. Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Dominic On October 4, a low pressure system formed west of Thailand and rapidly organized into a depression by October 5. The storm moved west northwest, causing heavy rain across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Late on October 6, the storm became a cyclonic storm and was named Dominic. By October 7, Dominic had become a very severe cyclonic storm. Late on October 8, Dominic made landfall just north of Chennai in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh at peak intensity. Strong wind gusts over 100 miles per hour knocked down trees and power lines, and blew off roofs of homes. As the storm moved inland, it began moving very slow, dumping heavy rain across central India. On October 8, Dominic had dissipated. In Andhra Pradesh, a storm surge of up to 5 feet swamped coastlines from Chennai to the mouth of the Krishna River. This caused severe flooding of coastal communities, and land transportation like trains, cars, and walking in Chennai was made impossible. As water surged into the Buckingham Canal, Adyar River, and especially the Cooum River, areas of downtown Chennai were inundated with up to 12 feet of water. This caused the bottom levels of most buildings to be completely flooded and most bridges were washed out. The Adyar River was overrun by so much water, that it washed out one of the runways at the Chennai International Airport, which also saw its entire facility be flooded with 5 feet of water. This caused the airport to be closed, and more then 700 flights were cancelled. Inland, flash flooding and river flooding caused widespread destruction, most notably in Karnataka, where a dam collapse washed away several hundred homes and businesses. In all, Dominic caused $1.3 billion in damages and killed 222 people. Super Cyclonic Storm Evelyn On October 7, a disturbance emerged from the Gulf of Thailand. Slowly developing, the storm moved westwards. On October 9, a depression had spawned north of Banda Aceh in Indonesia. The storm finally became a cyclonic storm late on October 10, being named Evelyn. Evelyn struggled to intensify further, and weakened to a depression after landfall in Tamil Nadu. Little impacts were recorded as the storm moved over southern India and emerged into the Arabian Sea on October 12. On October 13, Evelyn quickly intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm. 12 hours later, early on October 14, the storm became a super cyclonic storm, the first since Phailin in 2013. Late on October 14, the storm made landfall as a weakened extremely severe cyclonic storm, but still packed winds of 120 miles per hour, with gusts up to 150 miles per hour. Additionally, a massive storm surge of 18 feet as a result of the storm's slow movement slammed into the coast. Evelyn quickly weakened as it moved inland. By late October 15, the storm had dissipated. Evelyn had little to no impacts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. However, the storm's second landfall in Maharashtra allowed it to become one of the most devastating storms in the 2010's decade. The aforementioned winds were widespread, from Daman in Gujarat to Navi Mumbai. These strong winds downed almost every tree and power lines, cutting power to 9 million people, 7 million of which were in Mumbai alone. Skyscrapers in Mumbai lost most of their windows, and slums on the outskirts of city were obliterated.Wooden structures were completely blown away, and even well built buildings sustained roof or wall damage. The 17 foot storm surge combined with 30 foot waves destroyed every building within a mile of the coast from Daman to Palghar, with severe damage also occurring in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Surat. 12 feet of water rushed into the Tapi River in Surat, flooding most of the city. Almost every bridge across the river was destroyed, and riverside temples collapsed. A 12 foot wall of water rushed over Dumas Beach, reaching 2 miles inland before slamming into the Surat International Airport, crushing the south facing wall. A 7 feet of water penetrated into the building, submerging shops, seating areas, boarding stairs, and check in centers. Rushing water also eroded away the airport's runways. The damage to the airport was so severe, the airport was torn down after the storm and a new one was built further inland, which was completed in 2025. Several coastal communities were wiped off the map. In Mumbai, 15 feet of storm surge rushed across beaches and flowed into the Mithi River, Vasai Creek, Mahim Bay, and multiple other small canals. The neighborhoods of Dadar, Worli, Kamathipura, Fortm Nariman Point, Colaba,and Dharavi were submerged, destroying over 150,000 buildings. The Bahdra - Worli Sea Link was completely washed out, along with over 50 other major bridges in the city. Water surged into the Arabian Sea channel, in between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai, washing out the historic Vashi Bridge, and destroying every building in the Sheva administration district, including the Sheva Air Force Station, JNPT administrative building, and submerging the entire Elphanta Island, destroying every building and landmark on the island. The Mithi River overflowed, submerging almost all of downtown Mumbai, covering the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, or CSIA, in almost 9 feet of water. Despite this, Terminals 1 and 2 managed to stay dry, as the water did not break through the walls. However, terminals 3, 4, and 5 were flooded. The Air India headquarters were also flooded, submerging the first floor of the building. Over 55 aircraft were destroyed, including 4 Boeing 747's, which cost $300 million per plane. Over 500,000 buildings were destoyed in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai alone, with many more elsewhere. At one point, 80% of Mumbai was covered in at least 1 foot of water. This caused Evelyn to become the costliest cyclone on record, and one of the costliest tropical cyclones ever recorded, rivaled only by Hurricanes Ike, Maria, Irma, Harvey, and Katrina in the Atlantic. Additionally, the death toll was also very high, making Evelyn the fourth deadliest storm ever, with deaths estimated at at least 239,000. Damage was estimated at $39.5 billion (2018 USD). Cyclonic Storm Fernan On November 9, a low pressure trough moved off of Myanmar. The storm slowly intensified, becoming a depression on November 11. The storm then changed directions to no north, and became Cyclonic Storm Fernan on November 12. High wind shear killed the storm by November 13. Some flooding was caused in eastern Bangladesh, but impacts were minimal. Storm Names Each year, the next 8 names on the list of 26 names made by the SDTWFC are chosen for use. If needed, the next few from the list names are added to the year's list. Names not retired will be used again in the future, while unused names were marked in italics. Retirement Due to the damage and deaths caused by the storms, the names Dominic and Evelyn were retired. They will be replaced by Daniel and Elisa for future use. Category:North Indian Ocean Cyclones